Worth reading

The upcoming London Conference on Somalia is, potentially, a promising occasion to finally put the country on the road to peace, stability and democracy. Whether this opportunity is realised will be largely contingent upon the willingness and ability of the participants to chart a new course that takes full stock of the genuine and long term needs of the Somali people.

People are already joking it’s a good thing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation isn’t charging admission for its new visitor center, which showcases Bill Gates’ multibillion-dollar philanthropy, not his computers. While it’s not exactly a “museum of philanthropy,” it’s also not just a public promotion of the Gates Foundation’s work. (..) “We know that there’s interest and passion for our work. We haven’t had a way to invite the public in to learn about our history, what we do and how we partner with others, and to think about what they can do,” said Martha Choe, chief administrative officer of the foundation.

Bridging the gap between emergency humanitarian aid and long-term development aid is essential to help people survive disasters and get back on the path to self-reliance and dignity (..) The shift from humanitarian to development aid requires planning. And yet the two groups often fail to co-ordinate, and effectively overlap their operations to ensure a smooth transition.

(Remarks by Dr. Rajiv Shah Administrator, USAID) For the vast majority of human history, mankind has been stuck in a trap.
Every time the world economy expanded or technology would progress, populations would increase. Besides an extremely small number of royals and elites, on average, people didn’t become wealthier. Economic growth and development as we understand it today simply didn’t exist.